Impa in Zelda 1 and Zelda 2

[GZ Zelda]

I was reading Impa's wiki page for an ALttP/Oracles theory when a quote popped out at me:
"In the Legend of Zelda, Impa appears in the game as an Old Woman, however she is only named in the game's manual."

I had never heard of the theory that one of the Old Women in Z1 is Impa, but it actually makes quite a bit of sense. Are there just random old women giving Link advice, or, much like the sword-giving sages, are they important (or at least as important as possible for the NES) characters?

There is only one Old Woman in the entire game that is not a saleswoman (and Impa has never been presented as a saleswoman).

Two screens left from the Sword-Giving Man sits a smiling old woman with a brief bit of advice. It is her:

The Old Man at the Grave is the Magical Sword-Giving Old Man. Why would a random Old Woman give Link specifically this information, if she were not privy to Link's ultimate mission. She doesn't charge anything for this: she just offers up the location of the Magical Sword. I think this is Impa.

But what about in Zelda 2? Impa is now name-dropped in the opening crawl. All we know is that she handed Link six crystals in the North Palace and asked him to find his Triforce piece and wake Zelda.

There are also Old Women in Zelda 2, but none of them speak about these crystals or this mission...except one:

This Old Woman is the first NPC with unique dialogue Link can speak to after he enters Rauru Settlement...ehem...Rauru Town. She is, in fact, the only character in the entire game to reference the crystals. There are, in fact, ZERO people other than Link who should know about this quest of the crystals other than Impa, and this Old Woman is one of them. Even moreso than the Old Woman in Zelda 1, I think this is definitevely Impa.

Thoughts? Other candidates? Do you think Impa isn't in either of these games?

 

[Masaki1812]

I don’t think Nintendo planed it, but I see this theory as my head canon now. Good job.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I've definitely heard it thrown around that the old woman is impa, and I hadn't thought about the crystal connection to the zelda 2 old woman

it's kinda inconsequential anyway, though it makes me wonder if they were to ever remake these games, would they make it clear that it's supposed to be impa or was it really just a random old woman?

 

[Mangrove]

Same here, I'm convinced. I had a headcanon that the Old Man is also a sage, like Sahrasrahla or Aginah or Rauru.

 

[Ryuu Kage Desu]

Fits nicely

 

[Moblinking5000]

Hmm, seems sensible. If nothing else, it's a nice bit of headcanon that doesn't confirm or contradict anything.

 

[Zettafleya]

Perhaps at the time, the idea of the character was just a thought, so they made the old woman the same in the games so that, if they made Impa, then people could connect the dots and make such a theory.

Would fit, though.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

I like it.

 

[YoungGanon23]

I like the theory that Zelda 1 is actually taking place on Death Mountain and not in Hyrule

 

[GZ Zelda]

I have a little bit more to this theory I want to add, though it's slightly off-topic.

Some of the Zelda time periods have missing in-game Impas.

There is an SS--OoT--ALttP/LA/OoX--ALBW/TFH--Z1/Z2--BotW/TotK
There is an SS--OoT/MM--TP (Impaz)
There aren't any in the AT.

One thing that has always bugged me is the missing Impas in Minish Cap and Four Swords Adventures (and the Adult Timeline, but we aren't talking about that now).

I've always theorized that Minister Potho was the "Impa" of the Minish Cap games, but I just recently learned that he had a grandmother.

"Hmm...A sanctuary...You know, I do recall a story my grandmother once told me long ago. She said she saw a doorway appear in the palace courtyard as a child."

I also learned that Potho's Spanish name is Impa.



All of this combined makes me theorize, or perhaps headcannon, that Potho's grandmother was Impa. Any child that had access to the castle courtyard was probably a descendant of Impa or a castle guard, and his name is literally Impa in variations.

And wait! Maybe we are still talking about the Adult Timeline. Because Tetra's Pirate Crew are all descendants of her ancestor's advisors, and the advisor on the left looks identical to Potho and suspiciously like Mako. So maybe there is an Impa incarnation in the Adult Timeline.



And what game is this photo of Mako from, you might ask? Is it Wind Waker? No. Is it Phantom Hourglass? No. It's Four Swords Adventures!

An updated list of Impa incarnations:

SS--MC/FS (Potho)--OoT/MM--WW/PH/ST (Mako)
--TP (Impaz) -- FSA (Mako)
-- ALttP/LA/OoX -- ALBW/TFH -- EoW -- Z1/Z2 -- BotW/TotK

Spoiler: EoW

And then there is Impa's brother Ruberi who has almost an identical design. Clearly the male form of Impa is Potho/Mako/Ruberi